In case you didn't know!? Yorkshire Water Drop-ins in Hedon on Wednesday 24th August

YORKSHIRE WATER, besieged by complaints over the odours emanating from its Saltend Waste Water Treatment Works, have responded to public and political pressure by organising a series of drop-in sessions on Wednesday 24th August 2011 from 3pm - 8pm.

The sessions take place at Hedon Town Hall which is a rather small venue considering the hundreds of people that have taken the time to complain or sign a petition about the ongoing odour problem from the Treatment Works. Yorkshire Water say that they will hold five separate sessions, starting on the hour, each hour, from 3pm. This will include a presentation, followed by a chance to speak to key staff. So those people that know about the event can presumably choose which one they wish to attend - it would be just unfortunate for them if everyone decided to turn up at 6pm!

The key phrase in the last paragraph was "..those people that know about the event...". And therein lies a problem! Yorkshire Water announced the drop-in sessions on its website and subscribers were informed that "new information had been added" to that site on Wednesday 17th August. Those who studied the website would have realised the 'new information' was the one-week notice that the drop-ins were taking place. It may have been naive of anti-smell campaigners to expect follow-up publicity and letter to local customers about the drop-ins - but that naivety seems to have been rewarded with an event that the public seem largely unaware of?

The Yorkshire Water Smells Campaign will do what it can to advise customers of the drop-ins - but it seems that the decision to book a small venue for the event was probably correct given the foresight that notice was short and publicity scarce!

Local Councillor John Dennis has urged people to attend the drop-ins in a comment on the Hedon Blog: "I hope all you Hedon bloggers' take this opportunity, and that you tell all your family and friends to turn up too... it is not acceptable that the company that has given us the problem should be allowed to get away with it, at least without facing the people affected by their actions." 

Fellow Ward Councillor Mike Bryan has given his apologies and is unable to attend the drop-ins, but has also encouraged people to turn up and have their say!

So just in case you did not know...: Yorkshire Water Public Drop-in - Wednesday 24 August, Hedon Town Hall, 3pm - 8pm

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Yorkshire Water - "Saltend Smells" Campaign Resources

PUBLIC RESOURCES used as background information and to help and inform the community campaign titled "Yorkshire Water Saltend Smells!". These will be added to as we build these resources up:

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Hedon Blog launches Petition against the Saltend Smells

THE HEDON BLOG has taken the unusual step of launching a petition to help galvanise local action against the foul odours, from Yorkshire Water's Waste Water Treatment Works. The persistent stink has been making local residents life almost unbearable during the whole of July 2011.

The Blog usually tries to take a neutral position on most matters, but on this occasion has felt compelled to act as a local mouthpiece. Ray Duffill the website Editor explains:

"The smells from the Saltend site have become unbearable during the last 5 weeks. Comments on the Blog, on Fix My Street and on Facebook have shown the disgust and revulsion of local residents. Anecdotal evidence from local people reveals that people have been physically sick from the stench, and local asthma sufferers have experienced breathing difficulties. While the area has basked in glorious sunshine and heat, residents have been forced to close windows and abandon their gardens because of the stink." 

Ray continued: "At the presentation about the waste water site I attended in May, Neil Dewis, Yorkshire Water's Manager of Central Control and Optimisation, apologised for his company's 'no-smell' claims made prior to the site being built in 2000. It was "obviously wrong of the company to have made those claims" stated Mr Dewis who then want on to explain that the new £3.5m odour control unit - which he hoped would be operational by November, rather than December as originally scheduled - would see a "significant reduction" in odours but he could "not give a guarantee" that odours would be completely eliminated."

"Whilst people living and working in the proximity of the site continue to experience the impacts and effects of the Treatment Works, they need some recourse to force Yorkshire Water to act to reduce incidents. The petition calls upon local councils to treat the odours as a 'statutory nuisance'. If a statutory nuisance exists in your area then legal action can be taken to force the 'polluter' to act. Failure to act can be a criminal offence."

"The Treatment Works do carry out an essential service. Local councillors, officials and community leaders are willing to work with Yorkshire Water to improve things - and have been doing so for 11 years. But at the moment local people and communities are powerless to act. However, if the smells from the site are deemed a statutory nuisance then we can start to fight back and force improvements!"

Residents are asked to sign and share the online petition on the Hedon Blog and reproduced below. *Note: Please do not sign if you have already signed a paper copy.

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Pea pong - odour misery!

YORKSHIRE WATER has written to customers in the vacinity of their Waste Water Treatment Works in Saltend to explain the background to the recent increase in odours from the site and to apologise for this.

Yorkshire Water spokesman and Community Engagement Manager Richard Sears explains that the increase in odours has resulted from the concentrated effluent produced from the seasonal pea harvest. The recent dry weather has further increased the concentration of the effluent and smells. 114 complaints from residents have been logged since 27th June 2011.

The company is investing £3.5 million in a new odour control unit which will be more capable of dealing with odorous material, however, Mr Sears says: "In the short term we are chemically dosing various parts of the treatment process and have stopped any non-essential operational activities on the site in order to lessen odours."

The politicians meanwhile have been attempting to address the recent problems. East Riding Councillor John Dennis states on the Hedon Blog that both he and Graham Stuart MP have been in touch with key officials from Yorkshire Water and the East Riding Council to explain and tackle the current incidents.

Councillor Dennis suggests that people continue to report odours: "My suggestion is that, when the smell arises again – particularly when it can effects your homes, can as many people as possible complain to Yorkshire Water telephone 0845 1 24 24 24 and East Riding Council on 01482 396301. The more complaints they have logged, the higher a priority it becomes."

A useful guide to reporting the smells has been published on the Hedon Blog.

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Smells: MP tours Saltend Waste Water Treatment Works

GRAHAM STUART, MP for Beverley and Holderness has recently toured the waste water treatment works Saltend as a guest of Yorkshire Water officials. The treatment works is one of the biggest in Europe and treats 40 million gallons of waste water every day. It has been a source of controversy in the local HU12 area due to persistent problems with bad smells from the site.

The tour led by Yorkshire Water's chief executive, Richard Flint, on Friday 26th November, was staged to show the MP just how the company plans to reduce odours at the site. Mr Stuart heard more about the company's £3.25million project to tackle odours through the installation of a new, state-of-the-art odour control unit which will be the biggest in the region and twice the size of the current system at the plant.

Construction on the new odour control unit is expected to begin in February 2011 and completed by December in the same year.

The company has recently made a number of changes to the way it manages the day-to-day running of the plant to help minimise odours. These include regular inspections, including carbon sampling to predict potential changes alongside regular maintenance of the current odour control unit to ensure it's performing exactly as it should. Richard Flint, said about the visit:

"We were delighted to welcome Mr Stuart to the works and hope the tour we gave him helped convey just how committed we are to tackling the problems of odours at the site. Due to the sheer size and nature of the works, it's likely that there will always be some odour, but we're confident that our carefully considered investment will ensure we meet industry standards. I'd also like to say thank you to our customers in the area. We recognise the site has had its problems and they've shown a huge amount of patience whilst we've been working on solutions. Now we are in position to make a positive difference and that's exactly what we intend to do."

Customers will be kept up-to-date on the latest progress at the works through opt-in email and text alerts with further details around these being communicated in writing. Yorkshire Water has also said that it will continue with its weekly odour management meetings with environmental health officers from the East Riding of Yorkshire Council and its quarterly liaison meetings with ward and local parish councillors.

For more information on Yorkshire Water's investment into its Saltend works, visit Hull and Saltend News.

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More 'bad smell' reports - Council considers action!

Bad smells reported 1st - 8th August 2010

THE LATEST REPORTS from Yorkshire Water show that more people are taking the time to report the bad smells that occasionally pollute the local air space.

In the three weeks from the 19th July - 8th August 2010 then 33 odour reports were submitted which is a level on par with those reported three years ago!

Find out more from Yorkshire Water's Hull and Saltend News web-page (note: image taken from this site).

The East Riding Council recently discussed the 'long standing case' of odour problems arising from Yorkshire Water’s waste water treatment works at Saltend. The Council's Cabinet Meeting of the 20th July 2010 resolved to write to Yorkshire Water expressing serious concern about the management of the site and to ensure that "long term odour mitigation works" are completed as quickly as possible.

The Chief Executive of Yorkshire Water will be invited to the next meeting of The Cabinet on September 7th to account for the issue. In the meanwhile the level of complaints of odour nuisance arising from the site will continue to be monitored. So remember - keep on reporting the smellies as advised on the Hedon Blog - and leave your comments there too about your experiences of the smells!

The Council has previously made efforts to work with Yorkshire Water on the odour problems and not take measures against the company as a "Statutory Nuisance". However, the Cabinet has also resolved, that if necessary, this decision will be reviewed! This is the strongest indication so far that the council will take firmer measures against Yorkshire Water if the odour release situation does not improve.

Our local South West Holderness Councillors Ann Suggit and Steven Sloan each spoke on the item at the Cabinet meeting.

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